Flipkart and ace turtle Partner with WHP Global to Launch Toys“R”Us® and Babies“R”Us® in India

Bengaluru – June 8, 2021: Flipkart Group’s’ wholesale entity in India and ace turtle, India’s leading omni-channel enablement platform, announced today that a joint venture company set up by them has secured licensing rights for Toys“R”Us (TRU) and Babies“R”Us (BRU) in India through a strategic arrangement with WHP Global, the controlling shareholder of Toys“R”Us. With this arrangement, the world’s most loved and trusted toy and baby brands, Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us, will now be available to consumers online through sellers in India.

Flipkart will utilize its unmatched reach and expertise in technology and customer experiences, coupled with ace turtle’s omni-channel technology enabling buy-online and ship from store/pick up  from store, endless-aisle, and other technological innovations. The collective expertise of Flipkart and ace turtle establishes them as the partner of choice for Toys“R”Us’s business growth in India. This launch will strengthen Toys“R”Us’s brand presence and business, and further contribute to India’s growing toy sector.

Over the last few years, the selection of products under the Toys & Games category on Flipkart has grown enormously. In 2020, the platform recorded growth of close to 100%, with consumers shopping online for their toys and baby care needs as they continue to stay indoors.

Commenting on this partnership, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive Officer, Flipkart Group, said, “As a homegrown platform, we are constantly striving to build meaningful partnerships that are centred around the needs of our users. We are focused on ensuring that our users across India have access to a wide range of quality products made available by brands and sellers on our platform. With the Toys“R”Us global standard of quality, Indian consumers will now have access to many toys and babycare products. This partnership with ace turtle and WHP Global will see both firms bringing the best of their domain knowledge and expertise to innovate and provide customer-centric product selections that have value and quality at the core. In addition, we believe this partnership  will encourage efforts to grow the toy manufacturing industry in India.”

Speaking on the partnership, Nitin Chhabra, CEO, ace turtle, said, “Toys“R”Us is the world’s leading toy brand and has been bringing joy to millions of children across the globe. Something which the Indian consumers need right now. The Flipkart group, India’s leading omni-channel enablement platform – ace turtle and the world’s leading toy brand, Toys“R”Us, are coming together to deliver future-ready consumer experience across online to offline. It’s a win-win for Indian consumers.”

Yehuda Shmidman, Chairman & CEO at WHP Global and Toys“R”Us stated, “We are excited by the tremendous potential of this new partnership, as India is one of the fastest growing consumer markets in the world with real spending power among a rapidly growing population. We look forward to working closely with Flipkart and the ace turtle team to build Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us into the leading destination for toy and baby products in India.”

For more than 70 years, Toys”R”Us has been a global leader in the toy category celebrating the joys of childhood with kids of all ages, and Babies”R”Us has been the trusted destination for all new and expecting parents. Geoffrey the Giraffe, the beloved mascot of Toys”R”Us for more than 50 years, is adored by millions of kids and their families around the world. This brand power remains as Toys”R”Us and Babies”R”Us generate more than US$2 billion in global retail sales annually through nearly 900 branded stores and e-commerce businesses in 25+ countries.

According to industry data, India’s toy industry is predominantly unorganized, comprising ~4,000 small and medium enterprises. The exports for this sector are limited to about US$100 million, leaving massive opportunities for local manufacturing to thrive. Earlier this year, the Government of India had organised a toy fair intending to make India a global hub for the production and the sourcing of toys, in turn boosting the economic engines for the sector. This strategic arrangement will endeavour to create new and exciting growth opportunities for local toys’ manufacturers/sellers in India including MSMEs.

About the Flipkart Group:

The Flipkart Group is one of India’s leading digital commerce entities and includes group companies Flipkart, Myntra, and Flipkart Wholesale. Started in 2007, Flipkart has enabled millions of consumers, sellers, merchants, and small businesses to be a part of India’s e-commerce revolution, with a registered user base of over 300 million, offering over 150 million products across 80+ categories. Our efforts to democratize e-commerce in India, drive access and affordability, delight customers, create lakhs of jobs in the ecosystem and empower generations of entrepreneurs and MSMEs have inspired us to innovate on many industry firsts. The recent launch of Flipkart Wholesale, our new digital marketplace, is a testament to our commitment to accelerate the growth of kiranas and MSMEs in India. Flipkart is known for pioneering services such as Cash on Delivery, No Cost EMI and easy returns – customer-centric innovations that have made online shopping more accessible and affordable for millions of Indians. Together with Myntra, which holds a prominent position in the online fashion market, and now Flipkart Wholesale, the Flipkart Group will continue to steer the transformation of commerce in India through technology.

About WHP Global:

WHP Global is a New York-based firm that acquires global consumer brands and invests in high-growth distribution channels including digital commerce platforms and global expansion. WHP Global owns ANNE KLEIN®, JOSEPH ABBOUD® and a controlling interest in TOYS”R”US®, BABIES”R”US®, Geoffrey® the Giraffe and more than 20 additional consumer brands in the toy and baby categories. WHP manages over $3 billion in retail sales across its portfolio of brands. In 2020, the company launched WHP+ (www.whp- plus.com), a turnkey direct to consumer digital e-commerce platform for brands, with full in-house operations including technology, data analytics, logistics, creative and digital marketing. For more information, visit www.whp-global.com.

About ace turtle:

ace turtle is a technology-driven platform company that drives omni-channel commerce transformation for brands. ace turtle, with its proprietary platform – Rubicon, integrates online and offline retail channels enhancing efficiency and scalability through omni-channel transformation by intelligent use of data. Rubicon is used by large Global Brands as a SAAS Platform and is also leveraged by ace turtle for its licensed brands portfolio. ace turtle is backed by investors such as Singapore-based Vertex Ventures, the venture arm of Temasek Holdings and CapitaLand, Asia’s leading mall owner and operator. For more information, please click on www.aceturtle.com